Any hunters on here?

[mdees88]

My entire family of 6 either hunts or is learning to hunt (5 & 2yr old). We haven’t bought ground meat in about 18 years, my husband much longer. I agree that so much comes from the ability to harvest your families food. Something that has been handed down generation after generation. Each year we add to our processing table. A grinder, a meat slicer, dehydrator, stuffer, etc.
Our oldest shot her first buck at 5, here she is with some pork at 10.

I don’t hunt, but I cook what my family brings me. My DH has been taking out teenage children out for a few years now. My daughter’s second (?i think) year going out she successfully shot a doe. She was so proud. Then she pulled it out of the bed of the truck and our German Shepard came over to sniff around, and we realized that the dog was the Exact same size as the deer! She redeemed herself the following year with a very nice 8point buck.

(to be fair, the dog IS very tall and long)

That's great. Good to see the kids get involved.

I process all my meat also. I save the back strap and tenderloins, then grind everything else to make jerky, bacon burger, patty sausage, link sausage, and snack sticks. I'll save a couple cuts off the hams for roasts and cubed steak too.

Here's 50lbs of bacon burger getting ground up.... and some sausage, jerky, and snack sticks too.

 

[Redchels]

That's great. Good to see the kids get involved.

I process all my meat also. I save the back strap and tenderloins, then grind everything else to make jerky, bacon burger, patty sausage, link sausage, and snack sticks. I'll save a couple cuts off the hams for roasts and cubed steak too.

Sounds pretty much like what we do also. I still am on the hunt for a hot breakfast sausage recipe.

Here's 50lbs of bacon burger getting ground up.... and some sausage, jerky, and snack sticks too.

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[KikiDeAnime]

Hunting is a great hobby. It's very rewarding to eat a great tasting meal knowing it was an animal that lived a natural life, was harvested ethically, and was processed and prepared by yourself. Unfortunately it's not very "easy" and will require a good bit of time and research depending on what you're targeting.

If you don't own any guns I would suggest starting with a 22lr bolt action rifle (or a ruger 10/22 semi-auto rifle). A 22 is a good gun to learn with because bullets are cheap and are easily accessible (not right now though), and it has no recoil. It's a good gun for small game too like squirrels, rabbits, etc.

You'll need something larger for deer and will need a shotgun for birds.

Hopefully you can hooked up with a responsible friend who shoots a lot that can teach you proper firearm safety and also how to hunt what you're after....

My dad actually owns a gun. I'm not too sure what it is but I assume it's a shotgun? It looks like a shotgun but I'll have to ask him later. He only uses it on the raccoons so he barely uses it at all since we hardly get raccoons anymore. Also, he has a few co-workers and friends who go hunting a lot.

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

@KikiDeAnime might I recommend turkey hunting? It's a good compromise between having to sit in the stand all day (like with deer) and walk all day (like with grouse). Some sitting and some walking! SUPER fun!!!

Look on your local DNR website, you could probably find a place to do gun safety there. Like someone else suggested, definitely start with a .22. Easy, and no kickback. I use a 20 gauge for turkey hunting, though I know some others use 12 gauges. (Think the smaller the number for shotguns... the harder the kick). Definitely learn how to handle a gun before you go hunting and get your gun safety license!

 

[mowin]

I grew up hunting and processing my own game. My favorite thing to make and eat, is vestrami, AKA venison pastrami.
I'd start out squirrel hunting with a .22 rifle. Forces you to aim small miss small. Usually lots of action and they are easy to clean with no special equipment to purchase. They taste fantastic too.

 

[Tre3hugger]

I grew up hunting and processing my own game. My favorite thing to make and eat, is vestrami, AKA venison pastrami.
I'd start out squirrel hunting with a .22 rifle. Forces you to aim small miss small. Usually lots of action and they are easy to clean with no special equipment to purchase. They taste fantastic too.

How do you prepare your squirrel?

 

[mowin]

How do you prepare your squirrel?

Several ways.. strip the meat from the bone, and add to spaghetti sauce, chilli. Lightly coat in Seasoned flour and fry in with butter, onions, shrooms. Bater and deep fry. One yr, I decided to make squirrel sausage. Got a few dozen over a couple weeks. Mixed the squirrel meat with some pork and a sage breakfast sausage mix and ground it up. Didn't make a lot, lol. But it was delicious.

 

[Tre3hugger]

Several ways.. strip the meat from the bone, and add to spaghetti sauce, chilli. Lightly coat in Seasoned flour and fry in with butter, onions, shrooms. Bater and deep fry. One yr, I decided to make squirrel sausage. Got a few dozen over a couple weeks. Mixed the squirrel meat with some pork and a sage breakfast sausage mix and ground it up. Didn't make a lot, lol. But it was delicious.

Thank you!!

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Interesting thread. I don’t hunt, got too much of that ‘no! Let it live!’ in me.
Don’t worry, I’m not gonna call you guys monsters. I’m actually genuinely interested in learning about the whole process involved here. As long as it’s killed with respect and going to be used for something other than pictures with it, I’m fine with it.
I’ve never tried deer, squirrel, whatever. I wonder what it tastes like.
Though there is that fat squirrel who chases all the smaller ones away that I’ve been giving the side-eye for weeks...hmmmmm.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Interesting thread. I don’t hunt, got too much of that ‘no! Let it live!’ in me.
Don’t worry, I’m not gonna call you guys monsters. I’m actually genuinely interested in learning about the whole process involved here. As long as it’s killed with respect and going to be used for something other than pictures with it, I’m fine with it.
I’ve never tried deer, squirrel, whatever. I wonder what it tastes like.
Though there is that fat squirrel who chases all the smaller ones away that I’ve been giving the side-eye for weeks...hmmmmm.

That's kind of the whole point of hunting.. actually using the animals to feed people. Those who kill for sport are low lives and shouldn't own guns.
I also plan on using the raw bones and any other pieces of the animals for meals for our dogs & cats. Then I plan on using the furs